Are Natives Species The Best Trees For Bonsai?

Native species of trees are either going to be amazing for bonsai, or not. It really depends on the species and where you live.

Really you need to experiment with what you have locally and see how it compares to what we already know are good trees for bonsai.

I think there is an argument to say that native species can at times be the best species for bonsai, so long as they have all the right characterises. 

What Is A Native Species?

A native tree is simply tree that grows naturally in your local area. Most of these trees will just be ones that have always been growing there for thousands of years.

However, you can have some species of tree that were introduced by humans are now established and naturalised to the area. These trees may not be originally from your area, but they still able to grow as if they where and they are very much at home in your area.

When I am talking about trees in this article, I will be meaning both native and naturalised trees, as they can often be seen as the same thing, they are both trees that just grow happily in the wild in your area.

(You can read more about – How To Identify What Species Your Bonsai Tree Is)

Native Trees Will Thrive

Natives are going to thrive in your environment as they are local trees and are suited to your environment and this will give you a huge advantage when growing a bonsai.

Care is Easy

Since the trees are able to survive in your area you do not need to really worry too much about their care. You just need to make sure they have enough water and they will thrive.

The temperature and light levels are going to be exactly what they want so you are not going to have to do anything extra to keep them happy. You can just put them outside and let them do their thing.

They are also less likely to get pests as they are usually resistant to any local issues; however this is not always the case and really depends on the species you are growing.

All I can say is that any natives I have grown have been extremely easy to care for and never suffered from any problems. 

They Can Handle Your Winter

Native tress are also going to be able to handle you winter and will need very limited protection, if any at all.

This can be a real pain point for bonsai growers as protecting trees and overwintering them can be a real issue. If you get it wrong your trees will simply die and having that risk removed really does make a difference.

They Are Easy To Find

Native trees are also very easy to find. You are going to be able to get them for free or for very cheap.

These trees will be growing everywhere so it will be very easy to find seeds, seedlings or powerful yamadori that you can develop. If you do go to a nursery, they should be on sale for very cheap as they are such common trees.  

This can make them extremely useful for practicing your bonsai skills. You can use them to practice and learn some skills without any real risk. If anything happens to the tree you can easily get another one.

Natives May Not Have The Best Characteristics 

While I have spoken highly of natives, they are not perfect.

One of the biggest problems with them is that they may not have the best characteristics for bonsai. This will of course depend on the species you are using as some species can actually be amazing.

If you look at the horse chestnut, which is native here in the UK, it has dreadful features. The leaves are just huge and they don’t really reduce in size. They are one of the worst ever trees you can use for bonsai. I have tried to grow one and they are just really not designed for it all. Everything about them goes against the principles of bonsai.

This is probably the main reason why people are so keen to get certain non-native trees, such as anything from Japan. The Japanese have been doing bonsai for a long time and they have basically gone through all their natives to work out what works as a bonsai and what doesn’t.

Now if you look at Japan, all the trees they use have very good characteristics. A lot of these will thrive in our own environments, but not always, which is what can make these trees harder to grow at times compare to our own natives.  

(You can read more about – What Makes A Species A Good Tree For Bonsai?)

Some Natives Are Unknown As Bonsai

While Japan has spent many years working out which of its trees are amazing for bonsai, the rest of us have not really experimented as much. There are a few species that have had a lot of testing and have been deemed good for bonsai, such as an English yew, but really a lot of our trees have not been fully tested.

If you look at bonsai around the world, people are now starting to use more and more native trees and test them out which is great to see.

If you look at Australia, it feels like they have really got on board with their natives in the last few years and it seems like the popularity there is really growing. They are slowing working out what is working and what isn’t.

I think in a number of years they will have really dialed in what can be done with their natives and that is going to be amazing to see. I am just kind of sad I will never get to see any 70 year old examples of what they can achieve in my lifetime.

What Should You Have In Your Collection?

This may leave you wondering about what type of trees you should focus on getting for you collection. The reality is you can have any tree you want, there are no rules that say you should only have natives or not, really you should take your environment into consideration and check to see if the trees you want to own can actually survive where you live. 

Non-natives

Some people like to only have Japanese species and sometimes even just trees that are actually bought and imported from Japan .

There is nothing wrong with this and these people usually do have awesome collections, usually they live in a similar climate to Japan, so the trees can grow pretty well.

Natives

Some people only have native bonsai and while some people may scoff at this, you can actually have an amazing collection of trees.

This is especially true if you live in an area that has natives that are well suited for bonsai. If you look at someone like Tony Tickle, a bonsai professional in England, he only grows natives. Mostly hawthorn, blackthorn and yew and I think it’s safe to say we would all take any tree from his collection if he offered it, they are amazing.  

He only grows these as he finds these trees very trouble free and he has said in the past he tried to grow Japanese maples but they were just not happy in his garden which just goes to show the benefits of using natives.     

Have A Mix Of Both

I think if you are growing bonsai you should have a number of different trees. Get some natives, but also get the popular Japanese species.

Give them all a go and see how you find things. You may end liking both, or leaning one way or the other. It’s your collection, so do what you feel is right, but I think you should experiment a little and see what actually works in your garden.

Conclusion

Natives can be good trees for bonsai. Really you need to see what is available in your area and test it out. It may have really good characteristics, but maybe not.

The good thing is that they are easy to care for and easy to find, so they are worth experimenting with. Trees from Japan are certainly well suited for bonsai, but they are not the only trees that can be used, so get out there and use some natives and have some fun.